Demountable grandstand seat planks



J. F. RONEY DEMOUNTABLE GRANDSTAND SEAT PLANKS Sept. 23, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28 1947 fawn/r012 a'fioney,

fohn/ w Ar -t Sept. 23, 1952 J. F. RONEY 2,611,422

DEMOUNTABLE GRANDSTAND. SEAT PLANKS Filed July 28. 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN 7'02 fiorwg,

A 7-1-02 NEY.

Sept. 23, 1952 J. F. RONEY DEMOUNTABLE GRANDSTAND SEAT PLANKS 5'Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 28. 1947 f/Vl/ENTOQ.

,7 5 foil/z cfi flan/a 477'O2NEY Patented Sept. 23, 1952 ICE DEMOUNTABLE GRANDSllAND. r PLANKS John F; Roney, Los Angeles, Calif 'assignor to Safway Steel Products, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis, a

corporation of Wisconsin App1icationiIu1y28, 15 947, Serial No. 764,235

'Myinvention relates generally to grandstands for seating spectators, and more particularly to a grandstand of this class whichis demountable and composed of sections comprising standard structural elements which maybe combined? in various combinations ,to erect grandstands of various sizes andseatingcapacityf Such demountable 'grandstand's'fas have been available heretofore, have, not always been of a type" of construction consistent with'the, requirements of public safety. For example, wooden sawhorse-like supports. are frequently used'to support the seats andffl'oor planks, andgdue to the. failure of such sul porting elements',-,serious and sometimes fatal accidents have occurred. Accidents of this sort are. scmetimes' attributable to lack of "adequate interconnecting and bracing members, and" sometimes to the Unsatisfactory quality of the wood itself, as a material for structural members. I

Although wood is frequently employediin the supporting members of" demountable grand-e stands, it is particularlyunsatisfactory"as a material' for this purpose, particularly for structures which must be frequently erected and-demounted. Frequent fastening and u lf lfil cning of'wooden structural members tends to wear the bolt holes and other'fjastening' means so that the joints becomeloose'and permit swaying and sagging, eventually leading 'to thefailureof such attachment joints. with the possible collapse of the entire structure;

Another cause contributing to the failure-of previous grandstand structures has: been" a" lack of adequate and positivemeans for securingithe seats and floor planks tothe supportingfiama work. Such attachment means has usuallyfcon- Y ZClaims. (o1. ssso) sisted merely in-notches in the supporting members to receive risers having stairstep upper edges. Frequently the seats are merely laid on thestai-rsteps" and no-provision is made; to prevent them fromsliding endwise off of the sup-' portingrisers. In addition to the structural weaknesses just described, wooden grandstands of previous con' struction have required-an inordinateamount of assemblytime and must be -frequently i e-- paired to maintain themin a safe condition. The inter-fitting notch members which are often used to secure the-various memberstogether have a tendency, as 'mentioned; to become chippedfcracked, andworn after l'ittleu'se, and

when so worn require-specialattention 'du-r-ingassembly to assure an adequate Jeint. Furthermore, the seats and floor planks, i f fastened at all, are often secured by tying-to the supporting structures with wire or rope. This is adaborious and time-consuming: assembly ,processand is not. particularly satisfactory; even when. completed.

With the" inadequaciesof preyious structures in mind then. it is a major objectof my invention to provide: -a.demountab1e'- grandstand of the 2' class described in which the structural elements are quickly and securely assembled.

Another ob-ject'of my invention is to provide means in a demountable grandstand for removably securing the floor planks and seats in place without the necessity, or, the time-consuming tying operation above referred to.

A further object of my invention is to'provide a demountable grandstand having standard structural elements which may be assembled and disassembled many times'without destroying the efficiency oi the interconnecting means.

The foregoing and'other objects and advan tages of my invention will become'apparent'asthe description proceeds. I

Briefly, the structural members employedin my novel grandsfiand 'structure are: r

l. A number of longitudinal risers or trusses which support seats and floor. planks;

2. Upright frame members having integral diagonal braces and adapted to support some of said risers in structures employing two or more longitudinally adjacent risers at each section;

3. Scissor braces to inter-brace said risersand frames;

4. Seat planks secured to said risers in convene tional stairstep'relationship;

5. Walkways securedlto. said risers in frontfof and below each of said seat planks;

6. A guard rail assembly secured along thes'i'de's and back of the assembled grandstand.

The various forms. of grandstand illustrated herein andembodying my invention;- may. all be,

assembled from the above standard members which are attached together and. secured by. at.- tachment means which, as will be described, are adapted to be quickly and easily removedtjo'dise assemble the structure.

For a more detailed description of grandstands embodying and illustrating my invention, referenceshould now be hadto the attached drawings in which: s

Figure 1 is a perspective view of onetiensin le section grandstand employing the structural ele ments of my invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1; v

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Figure l; r

Figure 4 is an end elevation of a three tier, multiple grandstand employing substantially thejsame elements as the grandstand illustrated in- Figural;

ture of Figure 4 showing one arrangement of supporting elements;

Figure 6 is a rear elevation similar to Figure 5 but showing an alternate arrangement of sup' porting elements;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the riser members and parts of the scissor bracing employedin the structures of Figures 1 through 6;

Figure 7a is an enlarged detail of an integral attachment bolt used on various members of the structures illustrated; 7

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one of the upright frames and a portion of the scissor bracing employed in the structures of Figures 4 through 6;

Figure 8a is a fragmentary elevational view of a scissor brace of the type used in the various structures;

Figure 9 is a front elevational view of adjoining sections of walkway or floor planking illustrating the means of attaching the same to the supporting risers;

Figure 10 is an enlarged, front elevational, s'ectioned view ofthe butt joint in the planking shown in Figure 9 further illustrating the attaching means;

Figure 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the planking shown in Figure 9 further illustrating the attachment means; v

Figure 12 is a front elevational view of adjoining sections of seat planking illustrating the means for attaching the same to the supporting risers;

Figure 13 is an elevational section taken on the line I3-l 3 in Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary perspective view of a seat plank illustrating a seat attaching member employed at the joint betweenadjacent sections;

Figure 15 is a perspective view of a guard rail supporting member employed at the rear of the grandstand illustrated in Figures 1 and 4; and,

Figure 16 is an enlarged plan section taken on the line l6| 6 in Figure 15.

, Reference is first made to Figure 1 wherein it will be noted that the single tier grandstand illustrated therein is comprised of various structural elements including a number of truss risers 20 which are in turn comprised of individual welded elements as will be described hereinafter, and tiered sections of seat planks 2| and walkway planking 22 secured to the risers.

Guard rails 23 are supported along the ends and back of the grandstand by end stanchions 24 which are clamped to the ends of the planks, and rear stanchions 25 which form a part of the structure at the rear of the grandstand as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The laterally adjacent risers 20 are interconnected by crossed and pivoted scissor bracing 26 whereby to brace the entire structure against lateral sway.

A three tier grandstand, making use of the same structural elements as those employed in the structure of Figures 1 through 3, is illustrated in Figures 4 through 6. In addition to the elements of the grandstand of Figure 1, the three tier structure employs extra long scissor braces 29, upright frames 21, and single diagonal brace members 28. By reference to Figure 4 it will be noted that in the three tier grandstand each of the two front risers 20 supports the rearwardly adjacent riser and the two rearward risers are additionally supported by upright frames 21.

stand "maybe increased to almost any desired height. The size and. seating capacity of the grandstand may also be increased by placing units such as that illustrated in Figure 1, side-by-side, in which case thegseats 2| and the floor planks 22 are joined end-to-end at a section defined by oneof the risers 20. The method and means of supporting the seats and floor planks in such endto-end relationship will be described later herein.

When a structure of three or more tiers is erected, the frames 2'! may be either superimposed directly on each other as shown in Figure 6 or preferably staggered as in Figure 5.

All of the structural elements of the grandstand described herein are constructed principally of steel tubing or suitable tubular material. The diameters-of substantially all of the vertical members-are the same whereby to facilitate the interconnection of superimposed members in a manner to bedescribed hereinafter.

For a detailed description of'tthe riser 20, reference should now be had to Figures 7 and 7a. The riser 20 is so constructed that the entire load distributed over the various seats 2| and walkways 22 supported thereon is carried at the forward and rear ends of the support member. In this manner no intermediate vertical support is required for any of the risers used in the multiple tier structure such as that illustrated in Figure 4. To this end theloWer portion of the riser 20 is constructed inithe form of a roof truss, the members of such truss including a lower horizontal member 30, a pair of slanting thrust members 3|, and a. number of diagonal struts comprising a single zig-zag member 32. A vertical strut 33 is also provided at the apex of the thrust members 3|. All the members comprising the truss portion of the riser are welded together to form a single integral unit.

Rising from the panel points of the truss portion just described, are a series of vertical posts 34 of graduated heights, each of which is welded to the truss portion, the upper portions of such posts 34 being further interconnected by horizontal floor-supporting angles 35 welded thereto. It should be noted that the posts 34 at the extreme ends of the riser' are open both at the top and thebottom, and that the rear vertical post carries an upwardly projecting pin 36 which pin 36.

It is obvious that by adding risers 20 and super- At various points on the truss 20, attachment bolts 38 are welded as shown in Figure 7a, and are adapted to receive the endsof the scissor braces 26 or other members which are secured thereto by means of wing nuts l9. Attachment bolts 38 are provided on the inner surface of the rearmost vertical post 34, on the vertical post 34 third from the front of the truss, and atthe lower-horizontal member 30 forward of the center thereof, a welded clip 31 being provided at this latter point to support the bolt 38 in horizontal position. Thus it will be seen that each of the risers 20 is adapted to receive two pairs of scissor braces, one secured at the rear and one secured Just forward of the center as indicated in Figure 7.

Turning now to a discussion of the upright frame members 21, reference should now be had to Figure 8. The frame 21 is comprised of two horizontal members 40, two vertical posts 4|, and integral diagonal braces 42 terminating at the corners of" the frame, all of'said' members ein w ldedmseth rto bms-li ef am wh ch i diaeonal rbreced he remiss. ension oi, the t ains 1 lseoual t pt et o t ear. cos it-ofth i er Z; wher h aaz :2 and fr me .1- marsombineto unn t supe impo riser. horizonta .pe itioaesflieex: am le n. Fi ure; 4.. ':...On.. the. nn ns r ec s o t e two v r iqa' members pa ,0; att hen bqltssfi r w ded. s ilars to h se in he i rvM ver i alzme he M are Q1291} at the bo tom: t ia ili e e. supe osit on the e '1 n. anot er a d arn ieter q eetins p ns 36.. at the r; uppe ends imi-l rio: s r. 8; hu th upright fr mes .1 I54? adapted as are the risers, to be superimposed; and;

t e m e o h v1R em emet by b a ng. 3 wu d y Wine nu s messa es described.

7 h cture-.emr eyihe he h rk hee d sup porting a s pa ticula -ls. a a d to wi o, he e e s the 2mm a there ore enram a e use s d n aese diree stiehship s l nstra edl n F e 5- the iee e, il Qt t e ar ous irame ia P ac d in c tinuous end-to-end relationship to provide rigid diagonal bracing for the entire structure. 7 g I The scissor bracing 26 employed to interconnect the risers, and 29 empl yed. to interconnect the upright frame members 21 are of similar construction differing only in length. Each of .the scissor braces 2:6 and 29 iscomprised of a pair of pivotally interconnected tubular members 83 partially flattened to a semi-circular cross section at their centers and interconnected by a pivotr45} as indicated by the reference character 44 in Figure 8a. The ends of the members 43 are flattened and have apertures-formed therein adaptedto passover the bolt 38.

The walkways 22 andthe m eans employed to secure them to the floor supporting members 35 of the riser areillustrated in Figures 9 throughll. I Each of thewalkways employed in the. grandstand described herein; is comprised of a pair of planks 22' secured together in sideby-side relationship by a number oi transverse cleats'50 attached to the. planksby means of countersunk carriage bolts 53 and nuts; 52'.

Cleats 50 are positioned at along the planks 22 such astoiall immediately adjacent to the angular support members 35. At the cleat 50 illustrated at theright end of the walkway 22 in Figure 9, a pair of projecting lugs 5| are additionally securedby the bolts 53 and adapted and positioned to project under the upper horizontal flange of the angle member It will be noted that all of the angle members 85 have the upper flange of the angle projecting to the left,

v and as a consequence, the lugs 5| must project t h i t n rde t hoo under the a e as just described. In theembodiment illustrated inFigure 1 a similar set o f lugs; 5| is provided atthe left end oi the floor planks; 22', these lugs also projeoting to the right whereby to hook under h i -l mem er ,5; ad acent thereto.

I Will b n d roman e amination. of Fi ure 9 that the intermediate cleats 50 fall on the right-hand side of the angle members 35. Thus the floor planks in the embodiment illustrated in Figure; I are installed by bowing the plank upwardly to the nositionrindicatedrby the phantom lines Figure 9,. hooking the. end loss 5| .under the upper flanges of the angles 35, moving thev floor planks endwise to the right; and allowing angles 35, prevent the walkway 22 from movin endwise, and thus secure it in place. The walkway i r oved;- by v e i 'us erd a n moving it endwise to theleft to unhookfthe lugs 5|.

In theparticular arrangementillustrated in Figure 9 theattachmentmeans provided at the left end of: the planls'is such as to -proviclexfor a butt joint with a laterally adjacent walkway, thus; providing for the arrangement previously described in which several sections of grandstandare joined end-to-end. The details of this butt joint-are illustrated inFigure-lfl, wherein it will be seen that a flat platefiql issecured to the, under surface of the right-hand planks--n' and project to the left: therefrom. This plate 54 is adaptedand positioned to lie atopthe supporting angle 35 withits left-hand end; substantially in alignment with the edge of the upper flange thereof. Thus the planks 22 at the left in Figure 10 may be placed in end-to-endalignment.

with the planks to the right, resting atop the plate as. A cleat 58a which is equal to the combined thickness of the flange of the angle 35 and the plate 54 is provided at this point in orderto permitthe lugs 5| to hook under the angleflange and the plate, thus to secure both the left-hand and the right-hand planks to the support angle 35. thin, the difierence in planking elevation produced at the joint section isrelatively' small and immaterial.

Thus it will be seenthat there are four types of floor plank assemblies which may be used in connection with the various combinations of elents. n. constructin rand-stands embodyin myqinvention. 4

he fi t typ intended; for use inthe-embodimentillustrated in Figure ,lprovidesattachment lugs 5 at b hqends ofthejywalkway and, the pl n r n enough to nr iectisomewhat be:-

y n the support mber 35-,asrill-ustrated;i Figure 11, and also in Figure r T e s condtype of wa kway is thatqillustra edl i Fi e whi h projects bevon the. su por member 3 n yat the; i ht-hand; end.

The third typ f planking would be that t;neitherand, but is. outta th. to; provide a butt joint ateachend sJHl-ushatedin .F eure 10.

:The seat p anks 2i. emplotiediin the rarlous forms ,oflmy-invention: and; theati-ach'ment means thereforjare illustrated in Fi uresjlz through 1.4. In Figure 12 a plank projecting somewhat. to the right beyond the end supportmemberis illustrated being. joined inaendeto endrelationship with an additional section to the: left, as: pres viously described in. connectiomwitzh the walk,- Way. The seat planks 2i are. supportedpon the upper ends of the vertical. postsit i: which .form part of the riser 2%.: l v

A plurality of socketmembersfili; fifiayandtfi are bolted. to the under surface of theplank. 2| and positioned b01136 receiyediover thejupperends of the tubular posts. 315., Each; orthe sockets- 66 and; SBa-gis comprised. of; a :cy-lindricalportion 6| of sufiicientinternal,diameterzto passover' thesposts 35%,. a nutter being weldedtovthepslde;

The plate 54 being relatively,

of the cylinder 6! to receive a set-screw 64 whereby the socket 60 may be secured to the post 34 to prevent rocking motion of the seat plank 2|. A fiat flange 62 is welded to the upper end of the cylindrical portion 6| and apertured to receive bolts 53 which secure it to the plank.

In seat planks of the type which provide a butt joint at one or'both ends thereof, a special socket member 65 is provided at such adjoining end, such special socket 65 comprising a semicylindrical lower member 66 welded in alignment with the edge of an attachment flange 61. A semi-cylindrical stud 68 is also welded to the fiange 61 being coaxial with the socket portion 66. Thus two of the special socket members 65 placed in adjacent relationship as illustrated in Figure 12, are adapted to be received in the same vertical posts 34, to hold the planks thereto in end-to-end relationship.

Similarly to the floor planks, four types of seat planks are provided, one projecting to the right as illustrated in Figure 12, one projecting to the left, one projecting at both ends, and one projecting at neither end.

As illustrated in Figure 12, the two intermediate socket members 6|] are somewhat longer in vertical extent than the socket members 65 and 60a adjacent the ends of the seat planks 2|. The purpose of this arrangement is to make possible the engagement of the two intermediatie sockets 60 prior to the engagement of the end sockets, thus facilitating the assembly of the grandstand.

For a description of the guard rails and support members therefor, reference should now be had to Figures 15 and 16.. As has been previously described, the guard rail assembly comprises two horizontal and four slanting rails 23 which are secured by stanchions 24 and C-clamp-like members 24' to the ends of the planking as illustrated in Figure 9.

The horizontal rails 23 which are positioned along the back of the grandstand are secured by stanchions 25 which are comprised of a vertical member 10 to which the rails 23 are attached, a horizontal and slanting attachment strut 72 and II respectively, a vertical channel 13, and a vertical tubular section 14 welded within the channel 13 as illustrated in Figure 16. The tubular section 14 is of the same diameter as the upright posts 34 of the truss members, and thus it is adapted to be received over the pin 36 carried in the rear post 34 of the risers 20. When the stanchion 25 is so positioned over the rear post of one of the risers and interconnected by means of the pin 36, the channel 13 lies along the rear surface of the rear riser post to additionally brace and support the stanchion thereon.

It will be noted from an examination of Figure 7, that the rear and next-to-rear riser posts 34 are of substantially the same type and that it is necessary therefore to support the rearmost seat on any riser section on an additional section of vertical tubing in order to support said rear seat at the proper distance above the next-to-rear seat in the section. In the multiple tier grandstand illustrated in Figure 4 such additional height for the rear seat is provided by the front post of the superimposed and adjacent riser. The rearmost seat in the multiple tier grandstand is elevated to the proper height by reason of the additional tubular section 14 which forms part of the rear guard rail stanchion 25.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a grandstand structure which may be easily and quickly erected or demounted. The size and shape -of the component elements are such that each element may be carried and lifted into place by one' man. Furthermore the erection and demounting is'facilitated by the fact that the only tool required is a wrench to tighten the set screws in the'socketrnembers '60, 60a, and

As an additional securing means, transverse and aligned holes maybe formed in the attachment pin 36 as illustrated in Figure 8, complementary holes being provided-in the lower ends of the tubular members received on the pin 36 whereby transverse cotter key or other member can be inserted to prevent the accidental disengagement of the pin 36 from the tubular member carried thereon. i

By makinguse of the construction described herein,- a grandstand having many times the strength and rigidity of equivalent wooden structures can be erected and furthermore the overall weight of the structure will not greatly exceed thatof the-equivalent wooden structure.

While the structural elements shown and described herein are fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that they are illustrative only and are capable of considerable modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. For this reason I do not mean to be limited tothe forms shown and described herein, but rather to the scope of the appended claims. Y I e I claim: I

1. The combination with a tubular post included in a grandstand riser, of a pair of similar planks having abutting ends, a fitting mounted on the underside of each plank at its abutting end, said fittings each providing a semi-circular plug and'a semi-circular socket concentric therewith and spaced therefrom to provide a semi-annular groove, said tubular post being snugly received in the groovesbetweenco-acting plugs and socket members.

2. The combination" with a tubular post included in a grandstand riser, of a pair of similar planks having abutting ends, a fitting mounted on the underside of each plank at its abutting end, said fittings each providing a semi-circular plug and a semi circular socket concentric therewith and spaced therefrom to provide a semiannular groove, said tubular post being snugly received in the grooves between co-acting plugs and socket members, and a set screw threaded into th'e-socket-member of each fitting to engage the post and hold the planks to the post.

' JOHN F. RONEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

- UNITED STATES PATENTS 

